The award will be presented to NJLA IFC and NJLA Executive Director Pat Tumulty and current President Eileen Palmer at the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas at the IFRT Reception at the Las Vegas Hotel in Conference Room 8 from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 28.

The Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award Committee unanimously elected to award the NJLA IFC. New Jersey libraries have been assisted over many years by the work of the NJLA Intellectual freedom committee, particularly in the form of numerous policy statements, legal memorandums and legal briefs on some of the most important Intellectual Freedom topics facing our members. In addition, the committee, through the person of Grayson Barber Esq., has also been “on call” for any library facing an intellectual freedom challenge. She provided confidential assistance to libraries facing many legal issues but particularly providing guidance to libraries receiving challenges associated with the interpretation of the New Jersey Confidentiality of Library Records Statutes.

The Gerald Hodges Intellectual Freedom Chapter Relations Award, which consists of a citation and $1,000, is presented to an intellectual freedom focused organization that has developed a strong multi-year, ongoing program or a single, one-year project that exemplifies support for intellectual freedom, patron confidentiality, and anti-censorship efforts. The award is named after Gerald Hodges, who was an ALA staff member from 1989-2006. Intellectual freedom and chapter relations were his passions; he willed a portion of his estate to support ALA's intellectual freedom efforts. This award has been given since 2013 and takes the place of the IFRT State and Regional Intellectual Freedom Achievement Award.